Newcomb's Problem (Classic Philosophical Arguments) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1316632164 ISBN 13: 9781316632161

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2018

Synopsis

Newcomb's problem is a controversial paradox of decision theory. It is easily explained and easily understood, and there is a strong chance that most of us have actually faced it in some form or other. And yet it has proven as thorny and intractable a puzzle as much older and better-known philosophical problems of consciousness, scepticism and fatalism. It brings into very sharp and focused disagreement several long-standing philosophical theories on practical rationality, on the nature of free will, and on the direction and analysis of causation. This volume introduces readers to the nature of Newcomb's problem, and ten chapters by leading scholars present the most recent debates around the problem and analyse its ramifications for decision theory, metaphysics, philosophical psychology and political science. Their chapters highlight the status of Newcomb's problem as a live and continuing issue in modern philosophy.

About this title

Book Description

Newcomb's problem is among the most controversial in philosophical discussion. It has a bearing on free will, on the nature and direction of causation, and on the rational psychology of voting. This book is the first collection on Newcomb's problem to have been published since 1985.

About the Author

Arif Ahmed is University Reader in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Saul Kripke (2007), Wittgenstein's 'Philosophical Investigations': A Reader's Guide (2010), and Evidence, Decision and Causality (2014), and the editor of Wittgenstein's 'Philosophical Investigations': A Critical Guide (Cambridge, 2010).

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1316632164
• ISBN 13: 9781316632161
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 240
• Editor: Ahmed Arif